I have heard of such cameras, although the "fotosniper" looks like a gun because form follows function, i.e. a rilfe is stable to hold, so they put a rifle stock on the camera, but once you get a good look at it, it's pretty clear it's a camera, but from a distance, and the way you hold it to take pictures, it is pretty menacing. All it is is a gun stock for a camera body, with a big long lens...

Sean.

Here's an item to tempt your wallet Sean....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368289428

SL-5800 with the remote (but not the Betastack)

Olive,

I have seen him and his kin, but I would not get a non-working one. Especially when I could get an SLO-383 from Andy. But, now, after I get the 340, and the 900 back, my next order of bussiness is to get $900... you all should know for what by now! No big deal. Does anyone know if an RM-580 can be used on the SLO-420? I have on in my sights but it will take some time before it is available.

Sean.

If somone is trolling this page for Emails, KNOCK IT OFF!I just got some crap about UK prank calls and geing that I leve in the states, I connected it to this page! Has anyone else recieved this garbage?

Sean.

Sean,About yours RM-580? Good news! for SLO-420 you can use.Wireless remote RMT-312. Wired remote RM-500 RM-580.Automatic editing remote RM-440.Hope this helps you. Other way are just to sell me the RM580 remote! HA HA "joke"RegardsJan H.Pedersen

How much would you give me for the 580? In a commercial sense they are worth $500, but make an offer, I will consider it. Also, let's see if this will work the other way? Do you have a 5000 or 7000 series Umatic to sell (no 9000 series as I don't fancy an additionaly $80 for matching transformers to use the XLR audio connectors, and that's on top of $5 BNC adapters)

Sean.

Sean,

Sell the 580!!! With that money you could put it towards Brenda's 1000. It is totally worth it! Just a little advice =o)

~Scott

I am seriosly considering that route. Anyone want to make offers on a mint RM-580, usable with anything with a 33-pin cotrol port? That's yer SLO-420s, 323s, 325s, and 383s! Make some reasonable offer, although I'd love to get the street value of $500 for this! (however this is rediculous unless you represent some frm that has significant investments in Umatics!

Sean.

Sean! RM-580 typicals go for about 30 $ to 40$ on Ebay one of the last I lookon was about 39$ and there was 2 RM-580 one mising the jog shuttel whellBay the way also you can use RX353 Search controler typical 20$ on EbayRegardsJan H.Pedersen

Yeah, I paid $ 30 for mine. No huge turnaround there, I will keep it for use with the 420. I really have nothing great to sell. A broadcast camera without a lens, not much else.

Sean.

Here's a good question. Why is an RM-580 basically worthless except to whomever holds it (if you have the VCR it is quite valuable.) but then why does the RM-440, which can control two VCRs, still hold reasonable value? Does it have some more features specifically for its editing function? But I notice my 580 has Preroll and Edit keys for this also, a paird of 580s may be a practical alternative to a 440. I think I once saw a nice lot on Ebay, a GCS-50, an SLO-420, and an edit controller for the both of them.

Sean.

Hi - Does anyone have or know where to obtain the remote control unit for the SLHF1700 Industrial duplicating Beta Hifi Player/recorder?.

Stewart with the duplicator:I see you have one of the nicest PAL machines, be warned, it will not pay attention to the record-protect tabs, so be careful of precious recordings. Anyhow, look on the back, you will see some connectors labeled remote or control, of some klnd. If it says remote, you are probably in luck. if it is big and rectangular and blue, Sony made several remotes for those interfaces, both 20 and 33 pin varieties. There are several remotes available including ones that display a Linear Time counter. If it is labeled Control L, S, and also I think, T, you will have to find a consumer edit-cotroller or remote that supports one of those interfaces. There is a remote device that plugs into one of those ports and has an IR box to give you IR, but I do not know what is on the back of the 1700.Good luck with it!

Sean.

To Sean: The reason the Sony RM-440 Edit Controller is considered to bemuch more valuable; is because it was designed to properly synchronizetwo Sony VCRs for acurate assemble or insert edits. The RM-440 is infact the earlier model of the Sony RM-450 which can control a widevariety of Sony (and some other brands) commercial editing VCRs. The RM-440 was designed to operate many of the older Sony commercialVCRs with a parallel control port. I know the RM-440 well; as back inthe middle 1980s when I first began to do video editing, it was one of the easiest edit controllers to learn on!

I see, it makes sense now. I don't remember what I learned on, something from JVC... it was nice, though... Does anyone know, is anything with the 33-pin interfae compatible, I have seen other VTRs of othe kinds with it, or was it just hte connector that was standard?

Sean.

looks like that retard trolling this site for E-mail addresses is at it again. I got my spam for that 'hilarious crank call' service. A-holes who waste our time and bandwidth with that crap should take a nice quick ride through a woodchipper...

Anyways I've long ago learned to just hang up on anyone (telemarketer or crank) calling me that I don't know or want to deal with...

Yes, someone sent me Emails for some ad, and I snetnt a message saying "DO NOT SEND THIS AGAIN". but you can't reply to the crank call message, it will be rejected! I created a message that said "DO NOT SEND THIS AGAIN" about 500 times, but it bounced.

Sean.

Verry clever trick, Franny. I will see if I can find it! Who knows, it may be built into the anti-virus stuff I have...Thanks...Sean.

Sean:

Do a Google search for MailWasher. It's shareware (free, but you have the option of making a donation) that lets you pre-screen your e-mail and bounce anything you don't like (as long as it has a valid sender address, otherwise you can delete it before it ever gets downloaded). Also tells you whether something may be a chain letter, SPAM or even a virus.

Clever. I will do that tomorrow. It is 23:31 here. Rather late in my opinion to go screwing with the operation of my computer. So, I wait 'till morning for any mods... Oh yeah, don't try installing 20 year old hard disks at 22:00 either! Better still, don't try installing 20 year old hard disks your friend scavenged out of Wang PC's for you... It was a 40 MB Hard drive with 18 MB of bad sectors, and slow as a snail... (a snaling?) bad news, it was... I don't know what ever became of that PC, but, not to get too far away from the topic of Betamax, does anyone remember seeing those OLD PCs in the huge metal case, with the keyboard serving to cover the monitor? I think Kaypro made some of them, also Compaq mae one of not but it was NOT metal but rather flimsy plastic, Well, I always wanted to get one, find an appropriate CRT (That would be hard...) and put a completely modern computer into it, the fastest I could squeeze in, with several hard drives, advacned video board, gobs of RAM, and what have you... Oh well...

Sean.

Years ago I had an IBM portable that someone gave me because it wasn't selling at their garage sale - apparently their kid dropped one of those letter magnets in it. After fishing said magnet out it seemed to work fine. In the end I swapped it for a Mac Plus.

I did find an original 128K IBM PC recently - no HD just two floppy drives. SInce just about every motherboard is based on the original IBM-PC structure I'm pretty sure I could put in new guts and drives and make it pimp-slap that 'Dude yer gettin a Dell' guy's PC from Hell to breakfast...

But I'm perfectly happy with my Macintosh for the time being...

I MIGHT be able to score an XT with fast talkin' and lots of hard work, but, why? What's an XT today? Yeah, I COULD do that, but who really wants another IBM compatible anyway? They're like VHS machines... no use for any more than two.. I have my desktop for generic things, games, Email, writing, and a laptop for those things places my desktop isn't. I also have two VHS machines... Well, three because one is in the maila nd two fulfill the same function, but in different ways... One is a mono commercial for everyday crap, (the tape is cheap and you can make 6 hours or longer if you can stomach a moving version of polaroids...) and the other is an SVHS-HiFi that hardly sees use but will see even less once I can record BIs, only should I need High-class recordings over 1.5 hours. the third is a portable I bought to ahve somthing to do with my non-working broadcast camera, try to find the logic in that! Inversely Betas are good enough that you want several that have different capabilities, I.E. portable, high-grade recordings, camcroders, editors, and more and more, becasue some just have carechter or are mind-numbingly easy to operate. Score more points for Beta!

Sean.

Yes my boogity old Sony HiFi VHS machine is probably caked with cobwebs inside by now from how little I use it...

Well I do use it as a cable box for my SL-HF 360 from time to time.

If I get an SL-2710 I won't even need it for that....

You did get the auction for a 2710 that I got you that they didn;t list the model number? Bewst way to buy stuff is from people who are too dumb to list the model number or even say what it is. Do NOT tip them off to its value or they will rip you off badly. Happened to my friedn Labmeister and he ended up paying $1525 for soemthing. Tried to get an EDQ-30F that way but the bugger knew what it was worth and asked 500. Oh well. I got my 900 from a moron (Sorry Paylynk!) who did not know what it was. Oh well, turned out it was broken and only worth $80 anyway. But he will tell me if he gets mor betas (Please an EDV -9300, Please!) Anywho, I have seen several things listed that way includinga GCS-1 that I kept as a bacup auction in case I lost mine (which, in case anyone cares, I won on my absolute max bid!) happy E-bayingSean.

Sorry, folks. After a lot of consideration, I decided to grab the 2710 with BIN. I think that, everything considered (year, features, relative durability, initial cost, inherent risk in buying a machine, etc.), the 2710 is undervalued as a Beta Hi-Fi, nonSuperBeta unit, especially if you look at the going rates for the following units - Sony SL-HF300, Sony SL-HF500 and Sanyo 7200, in comparable condition and/or auctioned by comparable sellers.

If it helps, I have no $$ left to bid on either of the nice looking 2500's currently up, so have at 'em.

Oh, so you're 'ennuigo'... I was worried that the Snail had a friend.

Ah well $120 isn't too bad a price to pay for a pretty sweet unit and seeing as I have two working HiFi I can afford to wait for another bid. I checked your bidding list and I see you might get a Toshiba HiFi to go with for only $10 bux or so. And that the Snail has poached more than a few of your bids

A maintainance note on the Toshibas - the big capstan belt (that worn out is usually the reason why they don't work) is on the underside. It's almost like the belts for 8-track players

Looks like a 'flap' of SL-700s really are coming out of the woodworks these days...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368832617 is the latest.

And yet another poached offering from the Snail...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368814797

Anyone ever find out what his reserve prices are? I bet he's one of those jjerks who puts the reserve price really close to the BIN price just to cheese people

These guys claim to be able to rebuild your NP-11 packs with new higher capacity cells.Scroll way down the list, look for NP11 / EPP-119.http://www.batterybank.com/master/sony.html

Hi - RE SLHF1700 Remote - I have looked on the back of the VCR - The socket labelled "remote" is a round six pin type.

Used Betamax PAL Tapes. 25p each. London E4 area. Call 07712737976

Thanks for the tip on the Toshibas. I may yet still end up with a couple of "slight repair needed" units. I'm not yet totally sure which direction I want to go - low end units I can pick up cheap for the fun of repairing (or trying to repair) them, or fewer, higher-end working units to save on space consideration - I have a hard time parting with these units once I have them, so I should be a little more judicious in accumulating them. I notice it more with a couple of sellers who sell movies on beta, but that's one of the more unprofessional eBay activities - buying and selling the same products at the same time. It just doesn't make sense to compete against your own customers. I think in the case of "snalmeko," his target market are slightly overenthusiastic (I should cast stones...) newer betaphiles who jump at the chance to get what may be a near new, higher end unit, so you can maybe argue that that's not the same people against whom he bids, but it's still at least a little slippery. It takes advantage of people who don't know things like (in my case) an 860D is severely handicapped without its original remote because of the digital functions, and a missing door is a fairly accurate indicator of a hard or hi-hour life. Nevertheless, if you check the eBay newsgroup you will see it common practice for the same individual to buy and sell under different names. For me, I am either buying or selling - never both at the same time. Bad for business, in my opinion.

I was one of the bidders for that SL-HF2100 on ebay (the one without the remote or manual). I came close but no cigar. The snipers came out of the woodwork during the last 15 seconds and jumped all over that one. Oh well, so it goes. As a consolation prize, I went ahead and purchased a bunch of surplus betacam 20Gs to make up for the pain; think I feel better already :)

I too was one of the bidders on the 2100, but I didn't expect it to go that high without the remote. Somebody must have really wanted it, guess I'll just settle with my SL-HF1000 and EDV-9500. All kidding aside, Does anyone else get the "rainbow" effect when recording over a tape on a GCS-1 like I do? I had figured I would just erase the tapes before I record. Nice camera though, and a steal at $27 with some scuffing and that's all. How I do miss my BMC-1000 though. I do have to offer a Betamovie carring suitcase by Sony, the larger variety of the two that Sony made for the BMC-110 and 220, with some light scuffing. Key for the lock is included. I'm taking offers if anyone is interested. I would still like to locate a BVE-50 Sony Beta rewinder if at all possible, and perhaps some other betamovie accessories for my GCS-1. I do need some good batteries. Anyhow, that's about all for now. ~Scott

Does anybody knows the differences between the 950ES the 950MKII and the HF99ES?I've deduced that the HF99 wasn't released in Spain because Sony hasn't got its manual in their archive.

Anyone need a Sony C30?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368881269

up for bid on E-bay UK

No pics so no interested:)

Does anyone know the exact differences between the SL-HF2000 and Japanese SL-200D? I know the remote is different, but beyond that I don't know.

~Scott

The SL-200D is designed specifically to work with the Japanese TV system which means it likely gets a different format of stereo TV sound and it also gets TV channel 1 (which was reassigned to FM radio in the late 40s in the US by the FCC - in case you ever wondered why the US TV dial starts at channel 2). Also the Japanese use 100 Volts instead of 110-120 Volts like we do here. And it's still available for sale....

Thought I'd include this for anyone with an SL-2000 but no tuner...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368841114

$19 start $39 BIN

It doesn't show on any Beta search (you'd have to have 'SL-2000' or 'TT-2000' in a specific search) so most likely the Snail won't snipe at it...

Scott, in addition to the items mentioned by Olive, the really big differences between the 2000 and the 200D, from what I understand, are as follows: 1) the 200D has digital features, like the American 860D and 870D, with stuff like PiP, mosaic art, stop motion, 9x/16x frame motion, etc. 2) The 200D records in B1s, the 2000 don't. 3) it's been mentioned that the 200D is a four-head machine, while the 2000 is only a two-header (this is likely, as only a four-head machine can record in B1s/B1shb, according to my understanding). Howard

Does anyone know who invented Betamax? I know that Sony holds the patent, but what *person*invented Betamax at Sony? Any insights are welcome. Thanks.

RS422 control for sony machines, software component, using this software you cann add control functionality to your applications. Read timecode aand havbe control over any remote controllable 9-pin device that supports RS422 protocol.for more information please visit

www.rs422.com.ar

download a free demo version

Well, there go my dreams of owning a EDC-55 ED cam. As a video student, I had hoped to aquire this setup, but alas ebay bidders strike again, with someone that thinks he needs every single piece of good Beta equip ebay has. I get so frustrated by ebay sometimes. *sigh*

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368630299~Scott

Scott, there is still five days left in this auction. If you want this ed-cam really bad enough, you still have time to consolidate your budget and go head-to-head for it against Mr. Poersche-zero-feedback. Back a year ago when I REALLY wanted a SL-HF870D that was being auctioned, I was up against a really determined competitor who matched me bid-for-bid and more. I determined that this deck WAS worth bidding for, carefully measured my finances and what bills can be put off for a month, sucked it up, and fought it out to the end, and I survived and claimed the machine for around 389 bucks or so, which is not THAT bad as good working 870Ds go. Good luck and hope you win, if not this time then the next time. Howard

SL-2000/TT-2000 BIN $100

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowEmailAuctionToFriend&item=1367872674

Complete SL-2000 package

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowEmailAuctionToFriend&item=1368096525

BVW-11 professional deck.. this thing's awesome, I'd bid on it myself if I wasn't already swamped. :)

http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ShowEmailAuctionToFriend&item=1366982278

Regarding a previous post: I have an SL-2710 in my collection and I find it to be a pretty decent deck (except for lack of superbeta). It was the successor to the SL-2700 and I think was a cost-reduced version as it lacks a few features (such as the 2700's five-speed slo-mo). But it does have a double-speed (X2) button which not only speeds up the picture but also the sound. Inside the flip-down panel, it has a mic jack and a "dub" button which I'm guessing is used to lay down a custom linear audio track (???). Trying to find more info on that. Finally, it's Japanese cousin was the SL-HF66, which that other beta site shows in a nifty black/silver [ http://www.betamax.to/mybeta.cgi?mode=view&no=21 ]. Did the 2710 come w/ the same option (in addition to the all-silver)? That one just looks so cool!

Madness,

Yes, indeed there was a SL-2710B (Black) just like the Japanese version. Infact, a member of the Beta Informer has one for sale, $150 I believe and completely service with remote. If interested please email me and I'll set up the details.

~Scott

I'm assuming the reason you sent us to the 'show item to a friend' pages instead of the actual item those three times Brenda was in case the Snail is watching these pages?

Olive:

No, actually, I should have read the Ebay for Dummies book.. : |

Dammit! Now I'll never get those sweet sweet Betas!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368955232

Early Sanyo Betacord on E-bay

Is that REALLY Snaling I see... If so, may I ask, WHY!

Sean.

schika schika schika...

poured some salt on the pavement.

That oughta take care of the little bugger...

Yes, we should put a little picture of mortons salt on out auctions (if we ever want to get rid of a beta and for some reason can't get someone else here to take it) to keep him away. Has anyone thought, though, that "Snaling" might have nothing to do with snails??? Oh well, it's just grown into a bastrardization of his name even if he didn't mean to suggest snails in the first place!

Sean.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368632269In case anyone doesn't want to get one from Andy. Oh yeah, Snaling, if you are watching this, the resale on these is TERRIBLE... No, really.

Sean.

By the way the guy who runs that auction "deeppowderboarder" is very nice and has lots of video goodies up and they are all good! I got my RM-580 from him!

Sean.

Hi,I'm sort of new to beta. Can someone tell me how much of a difference there is between the recording modes BI, BII, and BIII? Which is the best to record in? I am assuming it is BI because of the faster tape speed.

Thanks,Zach

Zach, if you can find a Beta that records at BI speed it's the best quality to record in.

The spex on the speeds

BI 4.0 cm/sec or 90 mins (1 1/2 hrs) of time on an L-750 cassette

BII 2.0 cm/sec or 180 mins (3 hrs)

BIII 1.33 cm/sec or 270 mins (4 1/2 hrs)

If your Beta has trick effects like slo-mo they're often supported only at the BIII speed. Only the SL-6200,SL-7200 and SL-8200 offered the X-1 speed(BI) record speed in consumer grade VCRs. The SL-HF 750, 1000 and 2100 offered the BIs speed (BI super High band) as well as did an NEC Beta VCR (the VC-N65EU?)

Several' industrial' Betas used the X-1 speed as well.

Ah, the speed delema. First off, what machine do you have? several will limit you to two speeds and a few only have one! (although there are machines that only record each speed, none is left out.) the three speed machines are very rare, only a few could play and record all three, most can play them, though, while a few stick you with one or two only. With an L-500 (500 foot) tape the speed progression is like this. 500 feet make an hour in BI so you should be able to go from there, i.e. 500 feet make 2 hours in beta II and so on. the L-750 is a 1.5/3/4.5 hour tape and the L-830 gets even more, 5 hours in beta III, but you aren't supposed to use them in BI becasue they are so thin. you can try if you want, but don't blame me. Also there is a 1000 foot tape but they are hard to come by and reportedly have problems, but who needs six and one quarter hours anyway, there usefullness is debatable since they too are too fragile for BI and I wouldnt' use them in BII either for the same reason, they are so very thin. Good luck finding L-1000s, also! If you have a three speed machine, use the fastes speed you can and still fit in all the programming you want. If you have superbeta turn it on for the recordings, unless they are for someone without it. Ditto for Beta HiFi. A couple machines can also record at a higher bandwitdth when at BI, it's called super-Hi-band (6Mhz in case you were wondering)and should also be turned on if you can fit it all in at BI (but of course you should not if someone doesn't have this and the tape is for them)

good luck!Sean.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2041022608Could be fun for those of you with MACs...

Sean.

Anyone got a hankerin' for this wee beastie weastie?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368283763

SLO-1800 still at the starting bid of $69

So tasty...Office line goodness...Must... resist...must... save money for...SL-HF-1000.......................Ack!!!!!!!!

Get that for under $100 and you can use your RMT thingie with it and you wont NEED the SL-HF 1000...

Ah Franny, leave it to you to talk some sense... I just might. Opinions, anyone else learned? Olive, Das? Pepse? thoughts on this matter? sounds too good to me! Thanks, Frany,and thanks in advance, everyone else!

Sean.

I also saw a GCS-50 at about $56

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368752562

If you can get either or both you'll pretty much have a beta edit suite. The GCS-50 is a full insert edit VTR (I can't say for sure that the SLO-1800 is) and is the industrial version of an SL-HF 900 but with B-1s capability enabled( you have to find and remove a plastic label hiding a switch)

If you don't need a tuner and timer unit on your Beta a GCS-50 or SLO-1800 may be just the thing you need...

And I don't think that $900 Brenda wanted covered the cost of shipping. If she's at a military base overseas (which I think she mentioned she was) I can't imagine it's gonna be cheap...

Unless she can get somebody in Airborne to do an drop near your house...

Still an SL-HF 1000 is nothing to sneeze at...

Ha ha! I can just imagine some field commander getting this report...

"Sir that SL-HF 1000 we airdropped lost it's chute and landed on an Abrams battle tank! The VCR has a few scratches on it but the tank is a total loss, sir!"

Such a pretty SL-HF750. Alas, for me it would be called the Sony EZdivorce.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367616429

So it doesn't have a tuner! Industrial ED Beta.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368413104

Olive,

Actually, shipping is not that bad, as we get to ship via USPS.. to ship the 1000 itself anywhere in the US would be less than $45 or so Priority mail.. course, what would add up would be all the tapes.. *gggg* Still, shipping would be very reasonable compared to even UPS shipping direct from here.

I am now not sure what to do. I think I will save money for Hawaii and see if I can come up with a seuvenier of the beta variety, and, afterward, see if I can get money for the 1000. I don't really need the GCS-50 because I will be getting the 900 back fairly soon and the GCS-50 has basically everything the 900 has but no remote (No 33-pin interface!) and no tuner but linear stereo and some other goodies. The linear stereo might be nice if I get the 420, but that is far down the road. The SLO-1800 I think only records BII and it is hard to turn superbeta on and off because the switch is inside! BUT it has 33-pin control, superbeta, real Beta HiFi, and is built like a tank. So the plan of action is this: save money for trip to Hawaii, try to aquire Beta there. After Hawaii, save all funds for HF-1000 if still available. Not bad. I go to Hawaii in a couple weeks.

Sean.

Just remember that all that salt air in Hawaii is gonna do a job on anything metal inside a Beta. I've seen one guy from Hawaii who sells Betas and almost all his stuff has 'minor' problems that 'maybe need a tune up'...

If you do see something you like ask the seller if they could plug it in and run a tape or two. And do give a report on any unique items you do spot...

You bet there will be a full report of anything unusual or fascinating. I will try to bring home as many betas as I can, but I am not sure how likely it will be that I can get any more than two. I have a HUGE suitcase but there is only so much it can hold! If I took no clothes I could get about 6 VCRs in it but it is a week's holiday and there is only so much space you can save! If I am really luck I will run into some Japanese betas. I have the stepdown. Maybe an HF -3000 ! Actually I would prefer a model unique to Japan, like the EDV-9000 or some such. I ahve heard all Beta in Japan record BIs, and I have heard both that the ED betas there do and do not! Can anyone set this rumor straight???

Sean.

I don't know if anyone cares, but I do have a couple of SLO-1800's.. Both need videoheads.The SLO-1800, BTW is a 2 head Superbeta HIFI machine, BII record only. Playsback BIs(if i recall correctly), BII/BIII. It is a fully capable machine, but it does not offer any sortof true editing (insert/special effects). Just in case anyone did not know.. The GCS-50 isa great machine , they say it is an industrial version of the SL-HF900, but yet from my experience it is more like the SL-HF1000 than a SL-HF900. The GCS-50 uses the exact samevideohead drum assembly as the SL-HF1000. Yes, the GCS-50 has twin flying erase heads just like the 1000. Also, the GCS-50 uses the same advanced servo control circuit as the SL-HF1000. The SL-HF900 has a less advanced servo control circuit. Really, the GCS-50 is more of a prototype to the SL-HF1000 if you ask me.. There is no two parts alike on the GCS-50 and the SL-HF900, except for the usual SL-HFxxx mech deck, which is shared between all the SL-HFxxx units. I'd take a GCS-50 any day over a SLO-1800 too. Andy

Now the problem is: Do I save ALL my money for Hawaii/1000, or go for one of these tasty gems...http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367858639&rd=1http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1367973147&rd=1http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368096525&rd=1http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368752562&rd=1I'm not sure I need a portable now I'm getting an SLO-340 "Australian Walkman".

Sean.

Sean, I own a domestic Japanese Beta, the SL-HF505 (equivalent to the North American SL-HF550). It and most other Japanese betas do NOT have B1s record capability. Yes, it is true that there are MORE Japanese models that record B1s, but by no means all, or even a majority of them. For example, the Japanese equivalents of the SL-HF860D and SL-HF870D record in B1s, but the Japanese equivalents of the SL-HF450, SL-HF550, SL-HF650, and SL-HF840D do not; and of course the Japanese SL-HF900 does, but our North American SL-HF900 does not. Regarding the Japanese ED-Betas, it is my understanding that NO ED-Beta, whether Japanese or American, record in B1s. Howard

Andy is right on the mark when it comes to the differences between the SLO-1800 and the GCS-50. The SLO-1800 is designed to duplicate LOTS of beta tapes for the (now extinct) commerical market, that's why the key features of this unit deal with daisy chain remote control capability, external sync, easy maintenance and repair access, video/audio level fine-tuning, and head hours documentation. The 1800's editing capability is pretty much limited to its "pause" button. The GCS-50, on the other hand, is designed specifically for studio/prosumer editing, and thus its key features deal mainly with editing functions, such as RM-E50 editing controller functionality, a very sensitive jog shuttle to scan individual frames, indexing functions, and pre-roll and flying-erase editing capabilities. Both machines are outstanding in what they are designed to do; but their functions are alike comparing apples to oranges. Howard

Thank you Howard!What attracted me to the 1800 is its ability to have 33-pin control, which I am sure the GCS-50 lacks, I think it has only a weird control Lf port. I have never seen that or a cotrol to fit it!

Sean.

All this talk of the SLO-1800 reminded me of mine. I bought one about 3 years ago at a surplus auction. It worked fine for awhile then one day it just wouldn't power up. I don't know if it took a jolt or something. So, I put in a closet meaning to get back to it one day. Maybe there's a fuse somewhere inside it that blew? I might actually dig it out and take alook this weekend.

Another thing that spiked my curiosity: I'd assume that all hifi commercial tapes released prior to the 1800 were made on the SLO-1400. When they added the 1800 w/ superbeta, were there later-scrapped plans to release prerecorded superbeta titles? I've never seen any other than demo tapes.

I do not know. All I know is that the SLO-1800 has the superbeta default factory to "off" and it is inside, so you have to open up the case to turn it on or off! It is supposed to make recordings that look like superbeta without it, though. That was its claim to fame. I wonder what duplicator houses used before the 1400 came about, all the other industrials where X-1 only... Was there any pre-recorded material available in: X-1,X-3,Linear stereo?

Sean.

Hi. Glad to see some new messages. I am looking for a reasonably priced Betamax (SuperBeta HI-FI) Multi-format player, in good to better condition. Must have :PAL/SECAM/NTSC out conversion capability. I am in southern Calif. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thankz, Jay.

Jay, as far as I know, there was no such animal. There are several models that are multi-standard but no Superbeta/HiFi ones. Sorry! You could opt for a standards converter, it will serve you better.

Sean.

Sean, even with a standards converter, I still need aPAL/SECAM machine, right?

Yes. Most likely you will have to get one from a foreign Ebay but sometimes the multistandards ones show up on domestic Ebay.

Sean.

Thankz,I'll keep looking. Jay.

There is no multi standard Beta machine that does HiFi nor are there any that offer any interior conversions. These are things that only VHS decks have been known to do. Your onl option is to get a PAL HiFi deck and either a VHS unit with a convertor or a stand alone unit. This has the advantage of allwoing you to upgrad one portion of the set up w/o replacing both. I started witha PAL C6 and have gone through about 3 upgrades to get to a SL HF 950 (me thinks there is no upgrade for this one), while on the convertor front I have owned two.

I also noticed a fe days ago someone remarked that a SL HF 900 went for $125 on eBay with worn out heads I have one that is worn out, not totally wasted yet, that i would let go for this. beta 2 and 3 the recording are getting bad, Beta 1 the recordings are OK although the edits are rough since it was not designed to work this way and it takes a second or two to get up to speed. I have not been using it just have it sitting around as a spare.

Jay:LOOK!http://www.geocities.com/videoholic2000/Pix5.htmLook at the middle-east units. most of these can be used in ANY country...Some of the units had Superbeta. I am not sure if any had Beta HiFi... It would be of limited use especially if the country had not adopted any sort of TV stereo... MTS, NICAM, or the like...

Sean.

Sean of the ones you have on your list I'd try for either the SL-2000 outfit http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368096525 because it has all the peices you'd need to assemble already there or the GCS-50 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1368752562 because it's an basically SL-HF 1000 without the tuner The Zenith Beta is missing it's cover doors and finding matching spares would be pretty unlikely (assuming you'r the type who can't stand missing parts on their VTR. The SL-2005 doesn't have an item pic so you don't know what condition it might be in.

Oh to be in NTSC-land...

I see what you mean, Franny. I don't like to have the missing doors but with the portables it is not so much an issue, as, for me, at least, portables are not "display pieces" like the big sessile decks... They are kept boxed up in cases or bags ready to move at a moment's notice, and, Nicely enbough about the one you suggested, it has two battery chargers, so you can leave on to always charge a battery and one boxed up with the unit so that when you get where you are going and you need to play the tape or your recorder is pressed into service for one thing or another, you can use it without batteries. Anyway, I was hoping someone like Olive, who has used these units, can give me opinions on the various cameras that you can buy for them... They seem to differ WIDELY in color, features, and other things... but this is rarely listed or comented on... I do have the "K" adapter so once the big Hitachi/Denshi Field production cam is working it can be pressed into use.

Sean.

Anyone got a Sanyo service manual for a Sanyo 7200? I need the part number of the takeup reel sensor.Thanks a bunch!

The SL-2000, the Zenith VR-9800 and the Sl-2005 are basically the same machine. The VR-9800 is the Zenith version of the SL-2000 that Sony manufactured for Zenith. When Zenith quit the Beta format all the unsold VR-9800s were repainetd black and sold as SL-2005s.

As for cameras, the HVC-2200 (which I used to have) needs a lot of light to be able to see anything and is a bit laggy but is a pretty nice camera outdoors and you get a longer cable than the HVC-2500 I have now. The user controls (3 positon sharpness - fader switch that stays on instead of having to repress it for every use) are pretty handy. A good basic camera for mono Beta equipment.

The HVC-2400 is designed with an image reverse switch which (I think) inverts the color of an image so you can transfer negatives. It's also color co-ordinated with the SL-2000 (silver with gray inserts) as opposed of the 'basic black' of the HVC-2200. Having never had one I can't give more info than that.

The HVC-2500 has a built in IR Autofocus that works fairly well but if you're trying to shoot a distant scene it won't go out to infinity (if it doesn't get an IR beam return). Also I've found it's images don't seem as sharp as the HVC-2200s. It is better in low light (rated at 35 lux - on a par with the BMC-220) which means you can just about use it indoors with only room lights but a camera light is recommended. It has two mic jacks which make it stereo capable - if you have an SL-2700 or HVA-220 adapter - and It is also color cordinated with the SL-2000.

Another camera available is the HVC-2800. This lacks the auto-focus of the HVC-2500 but has twin mic jacks. It's styling is silver with black insert panels.

There's the CCD-G5 chip camera to consider - if you can find one . It used the K-plug and I assume was meant for the SL-B5 but Sony had already decided the future of home videography had lain in Betamovies and soon 8mm as only Toshiba's version of the B-5 portable the VX-340 ever got sold here. The manual to my SL-HF 300 shows one in a diagram on how to hook a camera too that VCR using an HVA-220 adapter.

Perhaps the worst HVC camera is the oddball HVC-2013. It used a standard HVC-2200 body but had an undersized lens (like it was from the old HVC-1000 camera) and instead of an electronic viewfinder it had this enormous optical finder (whose lens was actually bigger than the one for the camera).

In passing I should also mention that HVC-1000 which was intended for use with an SL-3000 and was styled to match. It looked more like a brick with a handle (that rotated to a comfortable angle at least) or a bit like a palmcorder or an old-time Kodak super 8 movie camera. I've never used one but I can't imagine the image quality was anything to write home about (being 1979 technology) and being hand held meant you couldn't stabilize it by resting it on your shoulder so images must've been jittery as well. It did use a K-plug.

Thanks for the advice, Olive! You seem to know quite a bit about beta, are you a tech or just an interested fan? The HVC setups will probably not see much use inside, if I get one, they will all seem useless beside the 15-lux GCS-1! BUT it will be great outside or in the car or whatnot. I have always fancied taking a camera/VTR outfit (never a camcorder... don't ask why!) into an officeMax... This is weird. I will let you all know about the SLO-340 "texas walkman" when I get it. I have a PS that will work but will not charge batteries, it is the kind for the 340's predecessor, a B&W open-reel machine, and also I have the camera for that that supposedly the 340 can use... But in B&W only, but at BI and B&W I should pull some incredible horizontal resolution!

Sean.

Just a hardcore gangsta Betaphile 'beyatch'...

did you get the pix of the 'camera of erectile dysfunction' HVC-2013?

Oh you bet I did! FUNNY! I pinched a bigger lens from a security camera! (Don't worry, it was MY security camera... it's no good, hence I pinched the lens... No, I just like to say "I pinched (nicked/lifted/stole/whatever) the lens from a security camera! I just had to buy the camera to do it! WHAT was Sony thinking!?!

Sean.

Well it seems E-bay dealer 'extrascoop' has been scouring the garage and estate sales around Honolulu again as he has quite a few Betas just listed...

This piccy of an SL-HF 650 http://www.tpdigital.net/users/finderkeeper/DSCN1044d.JPG is the most interesting as you can see a Japanese labeled NHK TV tape through the window...

and most of them seem to have 'minor' repair needs...

Don't worry- that SL-HF650 will probably fetch $ 200 + as is, broken. It never fails on Ebay.The broken machines get almost the same full value as a working machine. I like the SL-HF650, it represents the "best" of the 3 head Sony Superbeta HIFI machines. Full slow motion capability, X2 playback, etc. I personally would pay $100 to get the machine as-is, but one thing with Hawaii electronics is they sure rust out interally. I bought a couple of beta units on Ebay a few years back , from Hawaii and they were so rusty inside I could not do much to repair them. This SL-HF650 looks like it could be an opposite though, I'd bet it is in quite good condition internally. I am a fan of the middle of the line Sony Superbeta units, they offer the same performance as the upper end units, but not the price , especially in the terms of maintanance items (I.E. videohead). -Andy

Well when that SL-HF 650 gets sent to you for repairs, I'd love to get a copy of whatever's on that NHK tape stuck in it, if it's recoverable...

My SL-2410 arrived today. The damn thing talks, and it's "color" is leather-grain brown. I think that by 1984 Sony was maybe getting a little too smug. It's a cool machine that works a little better than the seller described. Problem is that I'm afraid to go near it.